Boulder County proceeding to dissolve paving district, pay refunds

A section of damaged road near the intersection of N. 75th Street and Arlington Drive on Monday, July 28, in Boulder County. (Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera)

Boulder County has removed the liens it had placed on thousands of residential subdivision properties that were assessed shares of the costs of rehabilitating their unincorporated neighborhoods' county roads over the next 15 years.

Officials said that by the end of August they expect to mail about $5.66 million in checks to the owners of about 10,100 properties — refunds those homeowners will get after a judge ruled last week that the county didn't have the authority under state law to form the Subdivision Paving Local Improvement District to assess most of those road-rehab expenses.

"We're working, in a coordinated fashion, as quickly as possible to issue checks to everyone involved," Commissioner Cindy Domenico said.

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Most of the refunds will be sent directly back to the party that originally paid either the first year's annual installment of the 15-year assessment, or who went ahead and made the full 15-year payment.

However, in some cases — such as when property ownership was transferred during the eight months the paving district was in existence — refunds will be made to title companies to distribute back to parties in those real estate transactions.

Boulder County spokeswoman Barb Halpin said the repayments are now expected to total $2,020,982 to owners who paid the full 15-year assessments on 293 properties, and $3,644,753 to the owners of 9,797 properties who paid initial installments on what would have been their 15-year bills.

Those amounts don't include the interest — to be calculated on an 8 percent annualized basis — covering the time between when the county got those subdivision assessment payments and the time it issues the refund checks.

In a July 25 ruling, Senior District Judge J. Robert Lowenbach said the county had "exceeded its jurisdiction and abused its discretion" in setting up the paving district and imposing the assessments.

Lowenbach ordered Boulder County to "promptly return the assessments and/or installments collected, with interest, and remove any and all liens" imposed on properties within the district .

County commissioners decided not to appeal Lowenbach's ruling.

The county says on a status report that "there are several steps involved in this process, but we are committed to refunding the monies as quickly as possible."

On Thursday, Boulder County filed an official legal notice with the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office that paving district liens placed on the assessed residential subdivision properties have been withdrawn.

County officials said they've also informed all real estate title companies and mortgage companies that regularly contact Boulder County for property tax information about the releases of those liens.

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